


Life Happens Sometimes

by vanillabeanrock



Category: Stranger Things - Fandom
Genre: Steve centric, Steve makes a difference, everyone eventually is family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-14 21:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15397689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillabeanrock/pseuds/vanillabeanrock
Summary: Steve is trying.  He never meant to mother a pack of middle-schoolers, but inexplicably, they wanted him, so he's doing his best.  It's not like he has anyone else.  Now, if only their parents hated him less, things might be less complicated.





	1. Steve thinks sometimes

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm very new to this, so I apologize in advance. As you will notice, I can't figure out how to indent because I'm copying and pasting this, and this website keeps getting rid of my indents, so I improvised. I'm very sorry, and I'll try to fix that for next time. First chapter is mostly background, sorry for the lack of dialogue and action and saying sorry so much. Thanks!

          Steve Harrington was really trying, but he hadn't exactly intended to become a Mom.  
          Surprisingly enough, he had a bit of a talent for it. Granted, he had kind of botched it up that night, after Billy showed up and beat him to smithereens and everything. Steve hated himself a little for that, for not being good enough to protect the kids, not being able to stop them from running into danger headfirst. 

         Still, he was self aware enough to admit that he truly wasn't at fault for that, no matter what he felt. He certainly hadn't meant to be knocked out; in fact, he had done his best to prevent it. For as often as he seemed to be in it, Steve disliked conflict. He just knew enough to understand he had to defend himself.  
         That didn't mean he was good at it.  
         Steve tried, he did his best, but at the end of the day, he couldn't fight to save his life. And it wasn't his fault that Billy knocked him unconscious, or the kids stole the truck and infiltrated the tunnels. He did what he could to protect them.  
          He still did what he could. He turned himself around. He stopped going to parties (not that he was invited much anymore), stopped drinking in public (the kids couldn't know what he got up to in private, so it couldn't hurt them), acted the part of a good role model, answered every phone call (the only people who ever called these days were the kids), drove them places, picked them up after school, fed them (out of his own pocket), listened to them, gave them decent advice, encouraged them, ignored their (Mike’s) snide comments.  
           In the eyes of their parents, none of that mattered.  
           Well, Steve thought, trying for a less bitter approach, that wasn't entirely true. Mrs. Henderson liked him. Quite a bit, actually. In spite of whatever she clearly heard from Hopper and the Wheelers, Dustin’s mother seemed to have imprinted on Steve much the same as her son. Steve would have to be more careful about that. Dustin was a good kid. He deserved better than Steve, but if Steve was what he wanted, he would get the best Steve available.  
          Lucas’s parents didn't seem to have anything personal against him. They'd just heard enough stories about Steve to be wary. That was fine. He could recover from that. Heck, he deserved it. It did make it mildly more difficult to be there for the kid. And Steve wanted to be there for Lucas. The poor kid had been competing with his friends all his life. Competing with Mike for leader, with Will for Mike’s attention, with Dustin for Max (granted, he seemed to have won that battle). Steve wanted to show him that he didn't need to compete to be wanted.  
          Max’s parents couldn't care less. Steve thought they were a little like his own. Absent, perhaps not physically but enough where it counts. He made a mental note to reach out to her more. Her homelife was still a great mystery, for the most part, but he suspected that it was chaotic and lonely. Possibly even violent, if Billy was any indication. He wanted to let her know that she had safety, stability, somewhere to go and someone to talk to, if she needed it. He wished someone had done that for him.  
         Mike’s parents had a strong distaste for him. First, his reputation had proceeded him there. They still thought of him as a party boy/bad influence type. Second, he'd dated their daughter and put her through quite a bit. It was, in his opinion, quite fair that they'd dislike him. He disliked himself, so he didn't expect better from anyone else.  
         Mike, he was initially convinced, hated him with a passion. At first it was because he was a bully and Nancy’s boyfriend. Now it was probably more because Dustin admired him (Mike, unfortunately, was the jealous kind), and he had greater authority. Mike liked being in charge. More recently, however, Steve had noticed that Mike’s banter was less heated and more playful. Steve was getting through to the kid.  
          Will was an entirely different story. Steve couldn't say with any level of certainty what Will thought of him. Will was quiet and polite always to everyone. He was obviously scarred from his ordeals with the Upside Down, but he scarcely complained or mentioned it. He didn't appear to hold any ill will toward Steve, but he wasn't particularly friendly either, which may have just been a result of his shy nature. Sometimes Steve thought he saw a small smile from the kid whenever Steve was being especially cheesy, but he could never be sure.  
           And Joyce…. Joyce Byers couldn't hate anyone. She was above it. But if she had made any exceptions, Steve thought he would be it. As it was, he could only say that she was deeply disappointed in him. It's not that she ever said or did anything to imply that. But she must've known how he'd treated Jonathan (she had to, it was the only thing Steve could think about when he looked at the guy, surely it showed?) She must've known how absolutely bullshit he'd been to Nancy (everyone must've seen that). She had to know he was a bully and a fake (obvious). She knew for sure that he'd failed to protect her son when it mattered most. Surely from that, she knew he couldn't be trusted. Surely, that was enough to earn her disappointment.  
           Eleven, oddly enough, was somewhat attached to Steve. Maybe because he was a safe and convenient older sibling without the batshit craziness of her sister, but wasn't actually an adult who wanted to tell her what was best for her. Maybe because he tried to make her laugh. Or because he picked her up anywhere, anytime, and never asked snooping questions. Maybe because even though he knew literally nothing about her past, he never blinked an eye at her impossible powers or ability to call him to her without technology or words. Maybe because he was always willing to listen to her, even when she would ramble on and on about nothing else but Eggos and Mike. Whatever the reason, they were cool.  
           Hopper straight up hated him. He'd told Steve, loudly to his face, that he blamed him for letting the kids go down that tunnel, and it was a miracle no one had died. He'd told Steve, loudly to his face, that he was never allowed anywhere near his daughter again (like that stopped her).  
           It wasn't surprising. Hopper had seen Steve at his worst, even before the whole drama of the Upside Down. He'd picked Steve up off the street at ungodly hours for underage drinking, vandalism, smoking, fighting, breaking and entering, and just being a public nuisance. He'd given him a final chance to get his act together due to terrible circumstances when they'd been forced to use every resource available to them (and Steve had been one of those unfortunate resources).  
         Steve had failed. And Hopper hated him. But the kids had already chosen, even the ones who didn't much like him, and they'd picked Steve, consciously or unconsciously. So, Steve was trying.  
         But he wasn't getting a van. (A man purse was still on the table).


	2. Steve Talks on the Phone Sometimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not what I wanted to post, but oh well.

          Steve Harrington received a rare phone call from his mother on the evening of November 16th.  
          Such a call would normally absorb all of his attention, but at the time, he had his hands full with other things.  
          “Yeah, hey, Mom,” Steve greeted errantly, holding the phone with his shoulder as he carefully snatched a plate out of the air. Eleven was currently levitating their entire set of dishware. Steve plopped a scoop full of homemade mac and cheese onto the plate along with two slices of cheese pizza.  
          “Hi, Honey,” she cooed sweetly. That was a thing with his mother. She always spoke extra lovingly to him, using an uncomfortable amount of pet names, as though to make up for the fact that she barely remembered he existed.  
          A long screech from the living room as Steve calmly added pepper to the macaroni on the plate.  
         “Steve, sweetie?” Steve almost laughed at the alarm on her voice, the first real emotion he'd heard from her in months. “Baby, what was that?”  
         “I'm babysitting,” Steve explained loudly, entering the living room to a loud squawking as Max and Dustin fought over the plate he carried. He ignored them both and handed it to Mike, who had broken his leg earlier that day. “It's more intense than it should be. Don't worry; nothing's broken, and I'll make the kids help me clean up before I drive them home.”  
         “Oh. I'm so proud of you, Sugar Plum,” but her voice held slight disgust. She hated children.  
         “How's New Orleans?” Steve had always wanted to go.  
          “Hot. Muggy. Full of bugs and weirdos. But I'm in Portland now, didn't I tell you? I closed a very important deal yesterday; I just called your father to tell him before I called you. He's going to have to come with me to Florida in a month; the company needs both of us there.” Steve’s parents both worked for the same company. It was why their marriage worked so well: they both knew that they were married to the job before each other.  
           “That's great, Mom. Good luck.” Because ‘Have fun’ was meaningless to her. She lived to work.  
           “Thanks, Cabbage. I have to go now. Win some games for me?”  
          “Of course, Mom,” Steve lied pleasantly. Not that she'd ever know if he won or not. Did she even remember what sport he played? “Good night.”  
           “Night, lovebug!” Click.  
            It took Steve a full minute to realize that Dustin and Max were staring at him with heartbreak in their eyes.  
            “What?” He demanded.  
             “The… pizza… pizza… you… gave the pizza…. I thought… I was your favorite?” Dustin gasped out, slowly, nonsensically.  
            Max just glared, betrayal written across her face.  
           “Mike literally broke his leg and has to hobble everywhere using crutches which require the use of both arms. He literally can't get his own food. And you guys like pepperoni on your pizza, so you should've known it wasn't yours to begin with.” Steve defended, putting his hands up. Will laughed, and Lucas rolled his eyes. Mike, uncharacteristically, looked touched.  
           “You put pepper on my mac and cheese,” he stated, gazing intently at the little black flakes. “I never said I liked that.”  
          Steve raised a brow. “Well, no, but I've seen you eat my macaroni like fourteen times now, and you've never NOT added pepper, so you can't tell me you don't like it.”  
         Mike went from disturbingly touched to defensive in half a second. “I could if it were true. I'm allowed to change my mind, you know.” Steve hummed in concession but watched Mike take a huge bite of peppery noodles and smirked.  
          Mike had been, naturally, the catalyst to this whole event. Eleven had been, at least, pretending to stay in and behave for Hopper’s sake. Steve was the only one who knew she went out sometimes, as he was usually the one she called to be her chauffeur, wallet, or companion. She hadn't contacted any of the kids because Hopper had told her that could be dangerous for them if the government found out. Originally, she'd been reluctant to reach out to Steve as well, as she didn't really know him and was trusting him on Dustin’s word alone, but Steve had assured her that he was trustworthy. Since then, they'd grown close.  
           But Mike broke his leg. When Eleven heard (through their radios), she couldn't be contained. She raced to Mike's side, causing an enormous ruckus amongst the adults (to be fair, he was in a third floor hospital room, and she crawled in through the window). The other party members had already been there, and immediately picked her side when Mike's mom (who had obviously never met Eleven) tried to send her home.  
             That was a mistake. El called Steve (using her powers not the telephone, and did anyone else even know she could do that?), and he drove over to the hospital, growing increasingly concerned about what could have happened. The entire party had loaded into his car, piling onto each other just to fit, and screamed at him to “Go, go, go!”

        He'd rolled his eyes and driven to his house at a normal pace, later ordering pizza and getting the full story. As soon as he'd heard it, he knew he had to call Joyce and Hopper. The rest of the parents deserved a call too, obviously, but Joyce and Hopper had been through too much already. After lengthy debate, he and the party came to a compromise.  
          He would try to get their parents to agree to letting them stay over at his house for the night, but he wouldn't hide anything, and yes, he had to call all of their parents, no exceptions. Eleven huffed at that last one but didn't argue.  
        The arrival of the pizza followed by his mother's call had derailed him a bit, but now Steve was out of distractions.  
       “BLAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” Dustin bellowed. Steve snorted as he trotted up the stairs and into his parents’ bedroom, which he had taken to calling “the phone booth” seeing as that was its primary use. He picked up the phone from their dresser… and hesitated. He really wasn't looking forward to panicking parents. Steve took a deep breath. Suck it up, Harrington. Put ‘em out of their misery.  
           Mrs. Henderson first, then.  
          “Yeah, hi. Yeah, I know, I know. Mrs. Henderson, it's okay; he's with me. Mews? No, I don't think he's acting up from grief, ma’am. I think he's coping with Mews’s passing fairly well. Yes, ma’am, he can absolutely stay the night."  
          One down. Now for Max.  
         “Hi? No, sir, I'm not a salesman. Actually, I was hoping to speak to Max’s mom. Yes, hello, I'm Steve Harrington-” a brief explanation of events- “so you can see why I thought it best to just call you directly. Yes, there's another girl here too. I'll be supervising. Mrs. Henderson uses me as a babysitter all the time. Yeah, they'll be sleeping in separate rooms. Thanks. I should have her home by… Can do. Nope, no broccoli. Bye.”  
           Lucas’s parents were easy.  
          “Yes, sir, I do hear the screaming. Don't worry; I think I can make her stop. See, Lucas is fine. He's here with me. Yeah, they were hoping to stay the night, and since it kind of sounds like you might enjoy a little less chaos anyway…. You don't want him back until after noon? I understand, thank you, sir.”  
         The Wheelers were awkward.  
          “Hi, yes, sir…. Yes, this is Steve Harrington. The Steve Harrington who used to date your daughter, yes. You want to do what to my what? Yes, sir, I agree, Nancy is a fine girl. She does deserve better, sir. This is actually about your son….”  
          Joyce Byers next, Steve decided. Joyce would be tearful, panicked. She’d lost her son before; that left a scar. Joyce, and then Hopper, who would no doubt be quite ticked that his charge had left her secret cabin in the woods.  
           As it was, he didn't get the choice. When he called, he was met with a deep, gruff, “Yeah?” Steve checked the number quickly. Definitely the Byers. Had Will hit puberty recently?  
          “Um, yeah, I'm looking for Mrs. Byers?”  
          “Steve Harrington?” It was Hopper. He'd heard that voice breaking up enough parties to know.  
          “Yes, sir? I mean, Chief. Chief sir. Ummm. I was calling for---”  
          “JOYCE!”  
           Steve winced. Hopper clearly hadn't moved away from the mouthpiece for that.  
         “IT’S THAT HARRINGTON KID!”  
         A frantic rustling, muffled speech, and then:  
         “Steve? Is this about Will? Mrs. Wheeler said they all just disappeared from the hospital.”  
         Suddenly, Steve felt like the biggest jerk in the world for not calling sooner.  
       “Yes, ma’am. He's with me; he's alright.”  
      “Oh thank God. Steve, honey, thank you so much for calling.”  
      “I also have El.”  
       “Oh dear. I'll put you back on with Jim.”  
         “Kid?”  
         “Hello again, Chief. I just thought you should know, Mike broke his leg, so now El’s at my place.” And didn't that lead to a much lengthier conversation, ending with: “She can stay over, but her and I are going to have a long talk tomorrow.” Then:  
         “Steve, it’s Mrs. Byers again. Tell me what happened, please?”  
           And so Steve talked, rambled on like his life depended on it. He relayed to her every second of the debacle from being called to the hospital (though he was deliberately vague about who called and how) to hearing Hopper on the other end of the line.  
            “Steve, I'm not mad, but why didn't you call earlier?”  
           “I was going to, but my mother called.” _For the first time in weeks._  
          There was a light, sad sigh. “How is she?” That was a thing with Joyce. Even if she didn't really know someone, it was programmed into her to care about them.  
         “She just closed a deal in Portland so pretty good,” Steve said, unsure. There was something in Joyce’s voice that disarmed him.  
         “You mean she's not home?” Again, Joyce was perfectly concerned. Steve cursed himself mentally for worrying her.  
        “Yeah, she went on a business trip to New Orleans, but she closed there, so they sent her to Portland. Next they want her in Florida somewhere. She's pretty pumped about that.”  
          “That's lovely. So it's just you and your dad then?”  
          She sounded so sincere. Steve hated to burst her bubble.  
         “No, ma’am. He's in Cleveland. I think. Ma’am, I'm sorry to ask because I know you must hate having him out of your sight after everything that happened, but can Will spend the night? He's already eaten, I promise to have him home at a reasonable hour tomorrow, and he just seems so comfortable being with everyone, I didn't want him to be embarrassed or anything, but I know the dark scares him, so I put out a nightlight in the living room when no one was looking, and--- yeah.”  
          There was a brief silence. Steve twisted the cord nervously between his fingers.  
         “Will can stay. Tell him he can call me if he needs to. I know you'll take care of him.” She did? After everything that happened with the Upside Down, after all his bullshit and bullying, she trusted him with her son?  
         “Yes, ma’am, I will,” Steve promised gently, confused but pleased.  
        And that was the end. It was almost funny how even that one conversation with people he barely knew at all lasted twice as long as his mother's call.  
             Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading; please feel free to criticize:)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please feel free to criticize:). I tried to fix some things, not sure how well that worked, but to clarify: this is all Steve's thoughts, and Hopper isn't as mean as he sounds here, it'll all be fixed much later. If I do things right. Which I might not, so please tell me:)


End file.
